Elite Gamers Online
by Burai Stelar
Summary: When an MMORPG is released, the likes nobody has ever seen, all the gamers are all over that. However, an unexpected twist leaves 10,00 players trapped in a game where it's literally a life-or-death battle. Will any of them survive, or are they all doomed to live in the game forever and/or die?
1. New Game

**Well...I take it nobody has missed me...don't blame ya. Anyway, college is kicking my ass back and forth so...yeah. But my time away from FanFiction has given me time to watch some promising Animes. Like...Attack on Titan and Sword Art Online (which this fic is kinda based on *cough cough*). Anyway, though this takes a few elements from Sword Art Online, I am adding my own little twist on it. So don't worry if you've seen the Anime or read the Light Novel, and you think that I'm just gonna follow the plot. Things are gonna work...trust me...**

**This will be rated T for language...and maybe some implied themes..**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or Sword Art Online! Wish I did though...**

_**Edit: I made a small, but noticeable, change. Well...noticeable if you read Chapter 1 first...anyway, enjoy!**_

**...**

NERVEGEAR.

The helmet that became the best thing to ever happen to gamers. Well...not at first. When NERVEGEAR was first released, it was mainly used in puzzle games. Gamers would complain about that fact alone on the online forums, and some hardcore gamers sent letters threatening the company that made the helmets.

After 5 months, things changed. A Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) known as Art of Limits (AoL) was announced, with a beta still pending release. Roughly a year and a half later, 2,000 lucky NERVEGEAR owners were selected to be a part of the AoL beta. After 4 months, the beta closed so that the creator of AoL could fine tune the game for the influx of gamers. After 3 months, the release date for AoL was announced and the gamers waited...and waited...and waited. When there were just 5 days left until the release of the game, said gamers began camping out at the entrances to several video game stores.

Remember...they're hardcore gamers...they do that sort of shit.  
When the game was finally released, in just an hour...AoL became the most profitable MMO to ever be released...

10,000 players were signed up and ready to roll..

None were ready for what was about to happen...

**X.X.X**

A blonde 14 year old ran home, ignoring several crowds of people on the way. A once in a while smirk was on his face, as he vaulted over the steps to his front door, he bumped a blonde haired girl out of the way.

Ignoring the indignant 'Hey!' he ran to his room, and shut the door. Scanning the room, his eyes found a simple helmet with a visor for the eyes. Smiling to himself, he grabbed the helmet and plugged it into his computer (that he never remembered to turn off) via USB port. Putting on the helmet, and lying on his bed, he closed his eyes.

"Art of Limits, Link On," he muttered.

**Elite Gamers Online**

Opening his eyes, he found himself in a simplistic town square. Looking at a window, he took in his in-game avatar's look. Blond spiky hair that went in every direction, cerulean eyes on an angular face, and a simplistic blue shirt with black pants. He wore brown boots that went mid-calf, and had a 12-inch simplistic sword sheathed diagonally on his back.

He started to chuckle, which turned into a full blown laugh as gave himself another look.

"Such noob gear...I miss my beta-avatar.." he told himself after he calmed down.

His ears twitched as he heard a voice coming from his left, "Excuse me...but did I hear 'beta-avatar'?"

He swore, and he made sure to doub-no triple check, that for the time he signed on nobody was in the starter city...but fuck...this person came outta no where.

Turning in the direction of the voice, he saw a chest, definitely not a female. Looking up he saw the face for the voice. It was round, with red hair partly shadowing violet eyes.

Narrowing his eyes at the newcomer he spoke, "How much height did you add to your avatar?"

The unknown blinked, "Um...none...I'm actually 6' 4''."

So the guy was an entire foot and a half taller than him...damn. Didn't mean he could sneak up on him though.

"What do you want?" he asked as he intensified his narrow gaze.

The stranger back up and raised his hands in a disarming manner, "I was looking around for some help. You see...I don't know how to..play the game. A total beginner, and since I heard you say you missed your beta-avatar that must mean you were a beta tester for the game. Would you mind showing me the ropes?"

He would have said no...but something about this guy compelled him to help... it was weird.

"Fine...follow me to the Western Fields," he relented as he walked toward the left side of town.

After about 8 minutes of walking through the town, and finding out each others' player names, the temporary twosome found themselves standing in a lush green field with a rich forest making a semi-circle in front of them. All around them were 3' 5'' crouched black ants that moved around sporadically, and twitched when they stood still.

"Axel..those are called Shadows...go wild," he told the redhead.

Axel grinned and dashed a random Shadow, eager to begin battle.

(2 minutes later)

As the redhead was hit hard enough to fall over, the blond struggled not to laugh. That was one of the most pathetic excuse for fighting he had ever seen...EVER. And the guy still hadn't killed the thing!

Biting his tongue, he managed a smirk.

"I see you have Shadow-slaying down."

Axel looked at him with a mix of disappointment and anger, "Hey fuck you Roxas!" He spared another look at the Shadow, "That's like the demon ant from Hell!"

Shaking his head, Roxas palmed a pebble he had found while the redhead was 'fighting.' Pulling his arm back, he stuck in the position of a baseball player about to throw the ball (in this case the ball is the pebble) as the pebble glowed blue. When the pebble seemed to reach the peak of it's glow, the blond let the pebble fly at the Shadow the redhead was fighting. The pebble struck the Shadow as a ring of blue energy followed and dissipated as the Shadow became data and spread in the wind.

Roxas closed his eyes, "Well would you look at that.."

"Don't," the redhead pleaded.

"It seems I've found the strongest weapon in the game...the Orichalum Pebble of Shadow-slaying."

"Sttthhhaaaapppp!" he groaned.

Now Roxas laughed. This guy was awesome to mess with. He had planned this entire story on how a legendary character in the game found the pebble, used it to slay a uber powerful dragon, and then left it for a chosen player to find and use for good. Eh, story for another time.

"Fine, fine...I'll stop." he relented, while still getting his eight chuckles in. "Listen, all you got to do is pull the weapon back, and then let the system do the rest."

Axel nodded, and stood up. He pulled his curved blade back, and put his right leg back. His blade glowed red until it reached its apex, and he dashed forward, ripping a random Shadow in half with his blade as he passed it. He let out a whoop as he skid to a stop and turned to see the Shadow finish dissipating into data.

"Woo! Did you see that? I tore that ant to shreds!"

"Congratulations. You just performed Reaver, a beginner Limit Art. Since you're a noob you should have the system tell you when to perform other Limit Arts correctly. However, as you grow in experience you can turn the option off," the blond informed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Okay," the redhead replied as he saw the sun setting. He opened his menu with his right index and middle fingers and saw the time. "Oh! I've got a pizza coming at 5:30. I'm gonna get going."

"Alright," Roxas said as he started to walk away leaving Axel to toy around with his menu. "See ya."

He barely went five steps when the redhead's voice called out to him, "Hey! Totally random question! Where's the 'log-out' button?"

He sighed as he opened his menu, scrolled down to the gear icon, and pressed it, "It's right..." That was odd... "Weird...Normally the log-out button is the last on the options list...but it's not here."

"Well there's gotta be a way to get off! I've got pizza coming in five minutes!" the redhead then moved his hands to a space around his head and tried to take something off. "Maybe if I just yank the helmet off!"

"That won't work. The NERVEGEAR interrupts any movement signals and translates them to the game so that the players don't hurt themselves in the real world while they are playing the game."

"Letting the helmet run out of battery?"

Roxas' voice was somber as he spoke the next line, "The helmets are plugged into the computer, and therefore, have an indefinite battery."

"This is insane! Roxas, you can't tell me we're stuck here!" Axel begged.

"Maybe the Game Moderator (GM) doesn't know there's a bug, if it is a bug."

Axel probably would have complained more if he didn't start turning blue...and then he vanished. Roxas' eyes went wide until he noticed that he was glowing blue. A sense of vertigo overcame him until he blacked out.

**X.X.X**

(Starter City, Meeting Square, 2 seconds later)

His vision cleared and he found himself in a huge circular arena filled with other players. _Great...the Meeting Square_. He looked to his left and saw Axel looking around confused.

"Axel!"

The redhead perked up and found Roxas in the crowd. After wadding through the crowd, he managed to get close enough to Roxas to have a conversation.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know," Roxas answered. "But for some reason, I don't like it."

Glancing at the sky, he noticed a random cloud turn into hexagon, stretched horizontally. More of these hexagons replaced the sky, turning red in the process. Soon after the entire sky was replaced, copious amounts of blood leaked from where the hexagons were joined together.

"This game sure is pushing for that M rating," Roxas remarked.

The blood then defied the laws of physics and met together in a huge blob. Then blob then formed a vague human shape that solidified and changed color to a giant red robed figure with its hood covering the face in shadow. Spreading its arms like it wanted a hug, the figure looked down at the players, like a god watching its creations.

_The hell is going on here?_ Roxas thought as he saw the phenomenon before his eyes.

"Hello gamers," the figure spoke in a deep, masculine voice. "I am Ansem Tatagami, the creator of Art of Limits, and I am here to tell you all...that you are now stuck in the game."

"….What?"

…**...**

**Player Handbook**

**Limit Arts:**

**Reaver**

**A Limit Art exclusive to the Rouge class. The Art is performed by pulling the arm that holds the sword back, and setting the leg of the same side back as if they were about to run. Once the blade finishes charging the red glow, the user then dashes forward at a pace relative to their speed stat times 2. The blade is brought forward at the exact moment the body passes whatever the opposing force has in front of them (arm, leg, nose, etc.) ripping through it if the user has a high enough strength stat to do so. If the user does not have a high enough strength stat to rip through the opponent, a large gash is left instead. This art takes 28 Limit Points to master, and opens up more Rouge class exclusive Limit Arts for the player to use.**

**Snipe**

**A Limit Art not exclusive to any class, but must be mastered if one wishes to become an Archer. The user must pull the arm that holds an item, that can be thrown, back like they were about to throw a ball. After letting the blue glow finish, the user throws the item with a force of their strength and dexterity added, then divided by 2. This Limit Art is unique in the fact that doesn't need much Limit Points to master it. However, the Limit Points gained are relative to distance. If the user is not far from the target (1-20 feet) then it only gains 1-3 points. If the user is at least 21 feet or more away from the target, the art gains 4-8 points. This art takes 20 Limit Points to master and, as previously stated, opens up the opportunity to Class Change to the Archer class.**

**Enemies:**

**Shadow- The Shadows are 3' 5'' pure black ants with yellow eyes. The Shadows are always hunched over, so nobody knows how tall the Shadows are. They move sporadically, and when they stand still they twitch as if they can't be still. When battling, the Shadows' only available attack is scratching the player. Sometimes, to evade attacks, the Shadows melt into the ground, and move until they are in an ideal position to attack. After popping up from the ground, the Shadows will sometimes lunge at the player to knock them down.**

**Miscellaneous:**

**Limit Points: Points a Limit Art gains when it successfully hits an opponent.**

…**... **

**So what'd you think? You like? Because this took like...forever to write...hard to believe...all my work and only...3 pages of story content...**

**So sad..**


	2. Say what now?

**Woo! Rolled another chapter out quick! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts! ..Now let me go cry in a corner..  
**

* * *

"Hello gamers," the figure spoke in a deep, masculine voice. "I am Ansem Tatagami, the creator of Art of Limits, and I am here to tell you all...that you are now stuck in the game."

"….What?"

"That's right. You're stuck in the game," the figure repeated. "If you tried to log out of the game, you may have noticed that the log out option has disappeared. This is not a bug, nor is it a design flaw. I have taken the feature away for one reason. Aside from being a game designer, I am also a scientist of sorts. This game is my experiment. With no exit, how will you cope?"

Roxas heard whimsical voice speak out, "But what about those people that live with us? Won't they just be able to take off our NERVEGEARs and force the log out?"

Though it seemed impossible to lock on to the voice due to the crowd, Ansem looked at the speaker as if it knew exactly where they were.

"Those on the outside have already been informed that doing so will cause the signal sensors in the NERVEGEAR to emit a strong Electromagnetic Pulse to destroy your brain and stop your basic bodily functions. Basically...instant death. However...some didn't listen and because of that 234 players are already dead. On another note, dying here means you die in real life."

Roxas gripped his shirt in the chest area, while he heard Axel gasp, "Roxas...is he lying?"

He shook his head and whispered, "I've read all about Ansem Tatagami, and he's not known as a liar in anything. He assisted in the design of the NERVEGEAR, so him making a statement like that isn't so farfetched."

This seemed to be the breaking point for Axel as he cried out, "This is fucked up!" He then pointed at Ansem. "You're fucking INSANE!"

Ansem seemed to ignore him as he continued speaking, "You won't be trapped here forever." He then gestured to a huge plain white pillar that seemed to go higher than the clouds in the sky. "Make your way through all 100 floors of The Castle That Never Was, and beat the final boss. Doing so will earn all of you freedom from the game. Oh and before I forget," Ansem said as he opened his menu with his right index and middle finger. After going through some sub-menus, he pressed an option. "Enjoy seeing how everybody looks in reality."

A huge blue glow surrounded the Meeting Square as all around, the game avatars changed. They went from the incredibly sexy avatars to real life appearances.

Roxas cursed. _Hopefully the girls here don't form a fan-club around me like the girls at school did. _He felt his face and hair with his hands to make sure. Sure enough, the angular was replaced with a round one. His spiky hair was now patted down on the sides and the top was swirled to the right, and his cerulean eyes were replaced with a more ocean blue color if he was right. His expression was so hurt, confused that many of the girls surrounding him swore that they had to fight a magnetic pull just to stay away from him.

Looking at his left, he took Axel's new appearance in. All of his bright red hair was now spiked back, exposing a widow's peak and his eyes were now emerald green. A purple reverse-teardrop shaped marking was under each eye, and his mouth was in the shape of a frown.

Looking everywhere else, he spotted a fat boy. _Ha! That's funny._

Ansem's cloaked figure was still in the sky as he let everything sink in, "And now I have exposed you for what you really are. Attractive 14-20 year olds. Good for you!" He then looked at the fat boy Roxas had spotted. "Except for you fatty. You're the curve."

Ansem disappeared in a cloud of data, leaving his prisoners(?) to their devices.

**X.X.X**

(Starter City, Back Alleyway 3, 20 minutes later)

After the reality of the situation hit, everybody began freaking out, except Roxas (he was too cool for that). While dragging a hysterical Axel to the alleyway, he thought about what he should say to him. He liked the guy and he had to strategize in case Axel agreed.

"Axel."

He was still babbling, too caught up in his hysterics to listen. Roxas, never a patient one, took initiative and back-handed the redhead.

"Did you just bitch-slap me?" Axel asked.

"Finally you calm down," Roxas sighed. "Listen. Everybody is probably calming down and thinking about what to do. We have limited monster spawns in the fields of Starter City, and everybody is gonna try to grind levels outta this place. It'd be better if we moved on to one of the other cities around this first floor."

Roxas saw Axel take a thoughtful pose, "But Roxas...I've got friends that are here. I'm not gonna leave them behind."

Roxas clicked his tongue, "Anymore than two or three people is a slow group, especially when grinding on the first level of the game."

"So then I guess this is good-bye for now..."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed as he opened his menu. After going to his friends list and sending a request to Axel, he continued to speak. "We'll keep up with each other easier if we're friends. Message me if you face a danger you can't handle with your friends."

He turned and started to run, as Axel accepted his request, "Hey! You do the same okay? Next time we see each other, I'll be better than you! Got it memorized!?"

Roxas continued to run toward the fields, deep in thought. _That's fine. I'll handle this alone, just like everything else_. As he entered the field, a line of 6 Shadows blocked his path. Taking his sword out of it's sheath, he held in reverse grip. _Nothing is gonna stop me_. Holding a stiff arm horizontally, he let the blade glow gold before he switched his sword to the regular grip, and thrust it forward. As if he was launched from a giant sling-shot, he blurred out of sight, before reappearing on the other side of the Shadows. As if by magic, the Shadows dissolved into data as Roxas looked ahead.

With a determined look in his eyes, he spoke out loud with conviction, "This game won't beat me."

Continuing forward, he let out a yell as a horde of Shadows appeared.

* * *

**Humor Data...Activate**

(If you die in the game, you die in real life!)

"Those on the outside have already been informed that doing so will cause the signal sensors in the NERVEGEAR to emit a strong Electromagnetic Pulse to destroy your brain and stop your basic bodily functions. Basically...instant death. However...some didn't listen and because of that 234 players are already dead. On another note, dying here means you die in real life."

A random player spoke up with a yell, "What?"

Ansem sighed and repeated the last line he spoke, "If you die here...you die in real life."

"...What?" the same player asked.

Taking a calming breath, he tried again, "Argh..how can I explain this well enough for the idiots? ..Okay listen. In a gang war, people bring guns and knives with them. Practically 75% of the people end up shot or stabbed, and left in a ditch. These people..never get up. It's like they are sleeping...forever."

"..."

"..."

"...WHAT?!"

Ansem slapped his hand to his forehead. Muttering under his breath about 'retards..with their retardness...' he opened his menu and pulled up a video.

"Just watch this," he said as he pushed the play button.

In the video, a white, bald man (probably a government icon from the old days) was just sitting around, answering what appeared to be questions, before his head exploded, scattering blood and gore everywhere.

"OH MY GOD! IF WE DIE IN THE GAME, WE DIE IN REAL LIFE!" the player yelled.

"I'm just gonna bookmark that," Ansem said as he put the video away. "Okay! Anymore questions?"

(Beat an MMO!?)

After Ansem explained how they could get out of the game, Roxas spoke up.

"Wait so let me get this straight...you want us to beat an MMO?" he asked.

Ansem looked at him. His giant cloaked face being creepy because all the players could see was black.

"Yes I want you to beat an MMO."

"Well that's stupid," Roxas retorted. "When was the last time you ever heard of anyone beating RuneScape?"

"When was the last time you ever heard of anyone PLAYING RuneScape?"

"...Fair enough," Roxas coincided.

* * *

**Player Handbook**

**Limit Arts:**

**Zantetsuken**

**A secret, powerful Limit Art only available to the Knight and Swordsman class. By stiffly stretching their arm horizontally, and holding their blade in reverse grip, the player allows the blade to glow a golden color. At any point the user can switch the blade back to regular grip and bring their arm forward. The same golden glow encompasses the player for 1/18 of a second, then disappears as the user bursts forward in a burst of speed, that makes them invisible to players that don't have a high enough level. After reappearing behind the enemy, the slash takes effect, usually killing the enemy. This Limit Art takes 75 Limit Points to Master.**

**Miscellaneous:**

**NERVEGEAR**

**A helmet that Ansem Tatagami helped design for gamers. By putting the helmet on and speaking the game they want to play followed by the words, "Link On." The player is sent to the game. By stopping the signals the brain sends to the body (except for breathing), and sending them to the game, the player becomes immersed into the game. In a VRMMO, the player feels as if they are actually there, as the five senses are stimulated in the game. They smell the air, feel the buildings, hear the sounds of nature, see the sky, and taste the food. Gamers find a VRMMO to be very addictive and semi-realistic.**

* * *

**So...what'd ya think? I do plan on make future chapters longer, cuz a lot of story has gots to happen, ya know? Anyway, tell me how much you liked/hated this chapter!  
**


	3. Kicking butt and dying, yeah!

**Disclaimer: Ahem...I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the plot of Sword Art Online. ...Curse my unlucky life.**

* * *

_In two months, the season changed from spring to summer. In those two months, many things happened in Art of Limits. All of the gamers grew in skill and level, and many formed guilds to try and have more of a fighting chance at surviving. Sadly, nothing goes as planned. Some of those guilds failed to stay together and disbanded. Those that felt they were too good to join a guild or a party, went solo. Despite belief, many solo players lived to see past these two months. However, in these two months, something could not be ignored. Some 2,000 players had already died, and by result, 2,000 families mourned their loss. And, with all of the loss, it's hard to believe..._

_They're still on the first floor._

**X.X.X**

(Eastern Fields)

Roxas gave a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair for the hundredth time. After two months, he was finally going to take on the first dungeon. It was go time. No more excuses, time to buckle down, and kick som-

_**Marluxia has sent you a meeting invite. Accept or Decline?**_

_Oh god. Not this crap again_. In the past month, Roxas had been getting these meeting invitations from various people. He knew what these invitations entailed too. A meeting starts how to beat the boss, they decide on a plan, go to the dungeon, make it to the boss...and then those in the meeting die. Well...everybody assumed that they did...because..they were still on the first floor.

His finger hovered over the decline option before he hesitated. He thought about it for a few seconds. _Maybe going solo wouldn't help with the dungeon_. His decision made, he pushed the accept button and was transported.

**X.X.X**

(Starter City, Small Arena, 4 seconds later)

He would never get used to the teleporting. It always made his stomach churn. The feeling passed, and he sat in the fourth row of the ten row stand made of stone. He'd been in this arena before, back in the beta. It was still as small as he remembered. A 10x10 ft. stone slab put in the dirt, with this small stand in front of it so people could watch duels. Broken stone pillars surrounded the sides of the slab that the stand didn't. Putting his chin in the palm of his left hand, he adopted a bored look he spent years perfecting. His eyelids drooped half-way, and the right corner of his mouth faced down. Putting his left elbow on his left leg, he let his fingers stay on his left cheek, and leaned forward. _Let's get this over with_.

After two minutes, it appeared that nobody else would be joining the small group of 25. Wonderful...they were all going to die. Well, Roxas wouldn't. He could probably survive this with half of his health left. He hadn't left Starter City to dick around the first floor. Before he could decide whether he should zone out or not, he spotted a player wearing a brown cloak, with it's hood up. The player sat down and Roxas noticed knee-high socks before the cloak covered the player's legs. _Female player, probably doesn't want to get asked too many questions about dating, since it seems she has a good body. _Eh, he didn't care, he wasn't a perv.

Just as he was about to nod off, a tall pink haired guy strolled to the slab. He wore a dark green, high collar shirt, with black loose fitting pants tucked into his black boots. _Pink hair? Is that natural?_

"Greetings everyone! My name is Marluxia!" At this the pinkette pointed to his own chest. "My weapon of choice is a Scythe, and my job is Assassin."

Roxas heard several players snicker before one spoke up, "This game doesn't have jobs, they have classes!"

Marluxia continued speaking as if he didn't hear them, "I have asked all of you here to discuss taking down the first floor boss. As you know, we have spent two months in this game already...and we are still stuck on the first floor. Now, I've thought hard about this and I suggest that we tackle the first floor dungeon, Bridge to Darkness, after we grab some of the beta-players and-"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by several shouts and complaints about that sentence.

One such player stood up, and spoke out once everybody quieted down, "Please...if those _**beaters **_were helpful, they would give us their enhanced and exclusive items, and they would provide us with help!"

Roxas was about to stand up, and object when Marluxia pointed his scythe at the player. Roxas got a good look at the weapon while it was out. The blade was rose pink, and the handle was pastel green, and slightly curved toward the outside at the bottom. The connection between the handle and blade was yellow, and had points on the two ends that were connecting to anything. _I didn't even see him equip it! That guy's good, but it's strange...only a beta-player should know how to do that. _Roxas thought as he narrowed his gaze. He had to keep his eye on this one, he might turn out to be helpful.

The pinkette looked at the player with pity, and spoke in a dull tone that sent chills down Roxas' spine, "It would be a shame to lose a player outside of a dungeon, even one as foolhardy as yourself. Watch your mouth, nobody else may be as generous as me." He then blinked and put a dazzling smile on his face, as he pounded the end of his scythe's handle on the ground. "Now then, as I was saying. I think we should gather some beta-players and ask them to assist us. However, since all of you oppose that idea, maybe we should just group up and start fighting our way to the boss at say...2 in the afternoon?"

The crowd nodded, and began separating into groups. Roxas looked around and saw that, beside the cloaked player, everybody was already in a group.

He sighed, and then scooted to the player, "Hey..you wanna be in a party with me?"

"Nobody wanted to be in a group with you did they?" the girl asked in a soft tone.

"It was mutual," he replied.

She sighed, "Fine.."

Opening her menu, the girl scrolled through and selected an option. Once she did, a pop-up appeared in front of Roxas.

_**Kairi has sent you a party request. Accept or Decline?**_

Selecting the 'accept' option, he blinked at the name.

"Kairi, huh," he muttered. "Hey..you wanna hang out before hitting the dungeon tomorrow?"

Kairi nodded, and then stood up, beckoning him to follow her. Raising an eyebrow, he followed.

**X.X.X**

(Starter City, Small Arena, 8 hours later)

After eating lunch, and dinner, the two found themselves back at the arena. They were actually here because of Kairi. She had suggested that they duel each other to see their skills, so that they didn't wind up dead tomorrow.

They had agreed on the 'one-hit win' option, where whoever scored the first hit won. ..It was the first option they both saw and knew, so they went for it. Don't question their judgement.

Roxas held a frown as he eyed his sword, the black double sided blade was just the standard for the swordsman class. Good reach, perfect balance. The only bad thing was that it looked so plain and boring. The crossguard was just a thin gold square, and the hilt was metal wrapped in leather. He needed a better blade...like the boss drop from floor 55. That was an awesome blade..

He was shaken from his thoughts when Kairi aimed a stab at his shoulder. Thinking quickly, he countered with a swing from below that redirected her stab toward the air. Though they were stationary for a second, Roxas memorized the thin, orange single sided blade, with a point meant for stabbing, and the circular crossguard that covered her hilt. _A rapier...so she's more for finesse huh?_

Before he could deal a retaliation strike, Kairi kneeled and attempted to sweep him off his feet with her left leg. Roxas leaped back to avoid her leg, then jumped forward to deliver a stab of his own. To his dismay, Kairi parried the strike with the tip of her thin blade. _She also has impeccable timing, and the reaction speed for it..I definitely need some training from her._

And she was still wearing her damn cloak! Biting back his frustration, he swung his blade from the right with the intent to leave a deep gash in her mid-riff. However, that too, failed when she blocked the strike with a swing of her own. Gritting his teeth, Roxas turned on his heel to deliver a strike to her unprotected side. Quick as a flash, her blade once again stopped his. _Damn it!_

He was about to jump back and rethink his strategy, when he noticed Kairi's sword arm quiver. Letting a broad smile appear on his face, Roxas disengaged his blade, and brought his sword over his head. Seeing her eyes widen, Roxas swung his blade down with glee. Just as he had hoped, she brought her blade up to block the blow, bracing the other side of the blade with her left hand. Amusement dancing in his eyes, Roxas began to apply pressure on his sword, making it harder for Kairi to hold her block. She set her left knee on the ground, and continued to attempt her block. Just when it seemed like he would win the clash, and earn the win, Kairi quickly pushed her right arm up, putting her blade at an angle. Due to the angle, and the fact that Roxas was still pusing his blade down, this caused his sword to slide along the length of her blade, and lodge itself in the ground. She went to slash at him, and he quickly leaned his body to the left. He pulled his blade out of the ground, and leaped back to asses his condition. Obviously, neither had been dealt any damage, as the duel was still going. However, both seemed to be getting tired. Roxas panted, and he could see Kairi's shoulders move as if she was breathing hard. She seemed to gather herself, as she ran at him, with her blade posed to strike. However, she stumbled and went for a stab that wouldn't even hit him. Roxas smirked, and went to cut her arm, when his peripherals caught sight of a green, high collared shirt. With Roxas being temporarily distracted, Kairi recovered from her failed stab, one second was all she needed really, and she gave Roxas a cut on his right bicep, that would have left him with a stump, had they been aiming to maim.

Nevertheless, the cut had been made, and the system recognized it, thus earning Kairi the win. Blinking in disbelief, Roxas barely realized that Kairi leveled up from the experience won in the duel. Sheathing his sword on his back, Roxas went to congratulate Kairi, when the two heard clapping coming from the right. Both looked in the direction of the clapping, and saw Marluxia leaning against one of the pillars.

"Good job to the both of you, I was quite entertained," he stated, a jovial tone in his voice. "The blond looked like he knew what he was doing." He pointed to Kairi and continued, "And she won the duel while wearing a cloak..with the hood up!"

"You cost me the duel," Roxas growled, tightening his grip on his sword hilt.

Marluxia put his arms up in a disarming manner, a smug smile on his face, "Now, now, don't blame me because you got distracted." He began to walk away from the pillar toward them. "Getting distracted in this game could end up with your possible demise, you know." He then passed the two, stopped and gave them a backwards glance. "And then we'd be down skilled players." Marluxia then walked away, as the dark of the night consumed him.

"What a weird guy," Roxas commented.

"Yeah...that's the word," Kairi replied.

Though her hood was still up, Roxas could see her dazzling white teeth in her smile.

Roxas sighed, "Oh, don't tell me you're attracted to him."

Kairi giggled, "Trust me when I say a little...but he's too...Prima Dona for me." Her cloaked face looked at Roxas. "Besides, I like guys of a...blonder breed." And with that she skipped off into the night, toward Starter City.

Roxas, alone on the stone slab, looked in the direction Kairi skipped off in and stood there, staring and blinking.

_The fuck was that?!_

**X.X.X**

(Bridge to Darkness dungeon, Path to Boss)

After battling the monsters that got in the way, a whole two hours worth, the group of 25 was now in a clear room before the boss room. Marluxia was looking at everyone, seeing what he was working with most likely.

"Well..are we all set?" They all nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

As he turned to open the door, Roxas looked at Kairi's cloaked form. Her health was still in the green, as was his. Due to the others fighting most of the monsters, he, his partner, and Marluxia were still as fresh as when they woke up in the morning.

"You ready, Kairi?" he asked, a grin on his face as the doors opened.

"Yeah," she replied as they both ran into the room.

The boss room looked like an extravagant white banquet hall. Roxas, having cleared this floor in the beta knew what to expect. The Darkside was huge, yes, and it could also summon a horde of Shadows. However, the danger was when it's health dropped to the red zone. It would summon a blade of darkness that could deal a ton of damage when it hit, and it would fire homing orbs at random.

After all of them walked in, the door closed, trapping the players in the room, until either the boss was beaten, they all died, or they teleported out using their teleportation crystals.

The Darkside rose from a giant pool of darkness. It was dark, massive and muscular. A giant heart-shaped hole resided in its chest. The legs were scrawny, and the toes pointed upward. The arms were huge, and bulky, and dark tentacles, in the appearance of hair, covered it's face. It's eyes glowed a yellow color, as it stood, menacingly looking down at the players.

They all stared at it in shock and awe, as it slammed its fist into the floor. Instead of hitting solid floor, it opened a dark blue portal that some 30 Shadows came out of. Seeing the Shadows jarred the players out of their stupor and almost all of them charged the horde. Surprisingly, a few went for the boss and began battling it.

Only Marluxia, Roxas, and Kairi stayed where they were. Roxas, because something seemed off to him. Kairi because she didn't want to move without her partner backing her. Marluxia, because he was waiting for an opening to begin combating the boss.

"Hey..you two..can you go and assist those handling the horde? Some look like their getting over run by the Darkside summoning more Shadows." Marluxia requested.

The two nodded, then dashed into battle. Immediately, something seemed wrong to Roxas. A Shadow was supposed to be colored black, yet this one was purple. _Wait a minute..._

"Kairi! What month, and what day is it?" Roxas asked as he slayed one Shadow and went to another.

After a few seconds, Roxas received his response, "It's 7 month, and the 25th day!"

A feeling of dread formed in the pit of his stomach. He turned to inform Marluxia, but he wasn't where Roxas last saw him. Looking around, he spotted the pinkette attacking the boss with a few others. The thing was...it too was purple.

"Marluxia! We've got a problem!" he yelled. "That's not a Darkside! It's a Dark Follower!"

"And?" Marluxia yelled as he dodged a hammer fist from the creature.

"It's a lot more powerful, it becomes more offensive, and it bring out it's sword as soon as it's health hits yellow!" Roxas replied, a scared tone in his voice. This special boss gave even him and the other beta-players trouble when it appeared.

A player gave a strike that dropped the Dark Follower's health to the yellow zone. The creature swung it's right arm above the players, causing a strong wind to blow those surrounding it back, as it took it's left arm and brought it to the ground. This time a purple portal appeared, and a dark blue sword came out of it. The blade was single-sided, and had jagged teeth, like a saw blade. The crossguard was a thin rectangle, that had a single spike on the two ends, and the hilt looked like a bone that was big enough for it to grip it in a hand-and-a-half style. Almost immediately after getting the sword in it's grip, the cavity in it's chest glowed before releasing twelve balls, that pulsed with energy. The orbs hung in the air for a few seconds, then fell to the ground, causing explosions 3 feet in diameter. Naturally, this show of power scared almost all the players. Marluxia, however, began running at it, his scythe glistening with the light of the room.

Roxas and Kairi finished cleaning up the horde, and ran to assist Marluxia. As the Dark Follower became more aggressive, it couldn't summon more Shadows, thus freeing the group of 25 from the pests and making them available to attack the boss. However, they were all still frozen in fear of the creature before them.

Roxas jumped, and attempted to strike the Dark Follower in it's thigh. This was not meant to be as the creature swatted him down with it's hand, then brought it's blade down in an attempt to bissect him. Quick as a flash, Kairi was in the air, her rapier glowing yellow as it slammed into the massive blade, and moved it from it's intended target, making it lodge itself into the ground. With it's blade lodged in the floor, Roxas and Kairi ran up the blade and began striking the arm of the Dark Follower. Just as it's health hit the red, the Dark Follower managed to free it's blade, causing the two to jump away from their target.

Marluxia was further away from the target, holding his scythe parallel to the ground as it glowed an ominous red. Once the glow changed from red to pink, Marluxia threw his scythe at the Dark Follower, intent on ending the battle. The scythe spun in mid-air as it drew closer to the head of the boss, and it seemed like it would hit. Unfortunately, the Dark Follower dodged the scythe and then honed in on the pinkette. The chest cavity glowed once again, and a huge orb came out of it. It hung in the air for a second, and then fell, homing in on Marluxia. _No! _Roxas sprinted toward the pinkette, hoping to reach him in time. Sadly, the ball was too close to move Marluxia without severe damage. However, somebody pushed Marluxia out of the way, just before the ball hit him.

Roxas knew who it was, it was the player that openly protested Marluxia's plan. Nobody had time to mourn however, as the creature continued to attack some hapless players. Roxas grit his teeth, as Marluxia kneeled near the downed player. The blond dashed to the Dark Follower and set himself in the stance for Zantetsuken. Once the Limit Art was ready, he unleashed his attack on the Dark Follower. The Zantetsuken landed, and took the remainder of the creature's health.

The creature froze, turned into data, and dispersed into the air. Roxas saw a pop-up appear in front of him.

_**You have received a drop! Accept or Decline?**_

He accepted without a second thought, and went to Marluxia. The player seemed to be grasping at straws, until Marluxia's savior dispersed into data.

Tears streamed down Marluxia's face as he whispered, "He told me...I was beautiful..and that...I shouldn't blame myself for what happened."

"Well, don't. He saved you so you could continue living. Now we have a little issue. The other players are looking for someone to blame, and I know you don't want any additional baggage. And I have an idea," Roxas told him.

"Well what's that?" the pinkette asked.

"Just follow my lead," Roxas replied. "Attention everybody! Today we have cleared the first boss! Today, we have taken the first step out of one hundred to our freedom! But we have suffered a loss, and for any of you that want to blame Marluxia, don't. Because it wasn't his idea to take on the boss today. It was mine," at this Roxas opened his menu and scrolled through his items. "You see, I knew that today it would be a Dark Follower instead of a Darkside we'd be fighting, and I informed Marluxia that today would be the ideal day to fight the boss." Roxas pressed his recently acquired item and equipped it. "For you see...I'm a _**beater**_."

At this the item finished equipping, and it showed itself on his body. The item was a full-length black coat with a waist-high slit going up the back. It had a large silver zipper that fastened to the top and zipped down to seal the coat. It also had silver drawstrings for the hood, decorated with a large silver bead hanging from the end and a silver chain ornament adorned with four large cylindrical silver beads that were fastened to a loop on either side of the collarbone region. With the coat came black gloves, pants and sneakers that were already on his body.

"And this is the drop from the Dark Follower, the item _Cloaked in Darkness_."

With this statement, the crowd murmured. He was walking toward the door when Kairi tapped him on the shoulder. During the battle, it seemed that Kairi's cloak had been taken off. Now he could see her auburn hair, violet eyes, and slight pale complexion. She wore a pink shirt with three zippers, one in the center, one on the right side, and one on the left side. She also wore a white skirt that went to her knees and frilled out toward the end. Her knee-high socks were a light shade of pink, and her shoes were white, with a small 2'' heel.

Her gaze was hard, "Hey...I know why you did that..and it was sweet," her gaze softened. "But why didn't you tell me that you were a _**beater**_?"

He shrugged, "You never asked, and it was never brought up."

He caught her frown slightly, "Well listen, I don't care if you're a _**beater**_, but...I enjoyed our time together," She opened her menu, and sent Roxas a friend request. "Stay safe...please."

As he accepted her request, he nodded, "You too."

He was shocked when Kairi gave him a hug. After a few seconds, he returned the hug. _She smells like strawberries.._

After being released from the hug, he turned and continued to the door. As he pushed the tall double doors open, he smirked. _It all gets worse from here._

**X.X.X**

(1st floor, Doom Forest, A few seconds before the doors open)

Seeing it's latest player victim look into its eyes as they died was the most exhilarating experience ever. Once the victim finished dying, the figure turned to go deeper into the forest. However, it felt something, and turned to see the Castle That Never Was. A pillar of light now connected the first floor to the second floor. _So...someone cleared the first floor...good._

Now everyone would flock to get to the second floor, and begin trying to tackle the second dungeon. That meant more players would leave the whatever city they were in to get to the castle. And the figure would catch anybody it wanted. Giving off a moan of pleasure, as it ran it's fingers through it's hair, a hood fell off. Blonde hair was now exposed, as the figure ran toward the castle. After all, those players weren't going to kill themselves..

* * *

**Humor Data...Activate**

(Last Words)

Marluxia kneeled next to the downed player, tears welling in his eyes.

"Hey, hey...don't cry. After all, you're going to survive this floor," the player said with mirth in his voice.

"But it's my fault you're going to die...if I had only moved in time," Marluxia replied, sadness leaking into his voice.

The player shook his head, "Come on...don't cry...a girl like you is too beautiful to cry."

The pinkette blinked in confusion, "Wait..you think I'm a girl?"

"Hold on..you mean you're not?"

As Marluxia shook his head to show that he was not a girl, the player's eyes widened, "Oh come o-!"

Sadly, the player could never finish his sentence as he finished dying, his data dispersing in the wind.

* * *

**Player Handbook**

**Limit Arts:**

**Airborne Ripper**

**A Limit Art for the scythe weapon. The user holds the scythe parallel to the ground, as the blade glows an ominous red. After it finishes charging, the glow switches to a pink color. The user then throws the scythe at the opposing force. If the scythe hits, then it rips through, and then comes back like a boomerang. The second strike is a guaranteed hit if the first hits. The damage done is equal to their speed and dexterity added together, and then divided by 2. This Limit Art takes 23 Limit Points to master, and it opens up the Reaper Limit Art set.**

**Enemies:**

**Dark Follower- While many would assume this to just be a purple Darkside, this is not true. The Dark Follower is a huge creature, that towers over the Darkside by an entire foot (the Darkside is 29 foot tall). The Dark Follower is muscular, with a giant, heart-shaped cavity in it's chest. It's legs are scrawny, and it's toes are pointed upward. The arms are bulky, and muscular. There are tentacles in the form of hair, that cover it's face, leaving it's yellow eyes viewable. It attacks by summoning purple Shadows, and sending orbs from it's chest cavity. When the Dark Follower's health hits the yellow, it draws it's giant sword and it becomes more aggressive, thus forgetting to summon more Shadows to assist it. The defeat of this boss drops _Cloaked in Darkness_. This boss appears once a week, on an odd numbered day in an odd number month, on an odd numbered year.**

**Miscellaneous:**

**Beater- A word that is the combination of Cheater and Beta. The players that didn't get to play the beta call the beta-testers this, as it is believed that the beta-players know all the secrets of the game, and what the best gear is. Granted, they are true, but the name still hurts the beta-players, and none of them like to be categorized as such.**

* * *

**So there's the next chapter! Sorry it took a while guys, but I was stuck at college for a while. Word of advice...never usher for a play...you have to fake smiles, and lead them to their seats, and give them pamphlets describing the story of the play they're watching...I never knew plastering a smile on my face was so tiring..**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**


	4. Lost Christmas

**Disclaimer: I once again, do not own Kingdom Hearts. BUT! I do own a copy of Scribblenauts Unmasked! Boom!**

* * *

(Crystal Castle, 4 months later)

"This sucks Defender shields.." came the eloquent sentence from Roxas.

The blonde was sitting in the 29th dungeon floor, reconquering Crystal Castle because he was bored. Axel was busy doing stuff with his guild Fury Flames. And Kairi was just brought into some semi-new clearing guild. The name escaped him, but it was like...Knights of the Empty Hearts, or some shit like that.

Regardless, neither of the two had time for him right now, so he was just...beating old floors. He should have explored the 29th floor, instead of doing the dungeon, which he had done 7 times already. However, before he could contemplate whether it was possible to die of boredom, he heard a girlish scream. Blinking, he shrugged it off, before a scream of higher pitch beckoned him to follow the sound. Maybe it was a rare monster making the noise.

**X.X.X**

(Crystal Castle, Ballroom Dance Floor, 1 minute later)

After running to the Ballroom Dance Floor, the blond spotted a group of four players surrounded by five monsters. The monsters were ball shaped, with a color mix of dark blue, purple, and black. They had two long dark tentacles on their head, and one on the bottom, sharp teeth that could take chunks off of the players and beady yellow eyes. These creatures were known as Darkballs, and they were deadly in groups of three or more. All five were distracted with the group, so he could take them out with the right Limit Art.

Pulling his sword back over his shoulder, he let it glow a dark yellow. Once the blade twitched slightly, Roxas threw it and watched as it went for the nearest Darkball, spinning as it flew, and cut it in half. This got the attention of the other four Darkballs, as they began to fly toward Roxas. _Come...line up!_ Roxas thought as they drew closer to him.

Just as he had hoped, the Darkballs formed a line, so that he could only see one of them.

He smirked, "Au revoir, you damn balls!"

His blade curved in the air, and came back spinning like a top, as it cut through the four monsters. He was about to catch it successfully, when he remembered the four players that were no doubt watching him. He couldn't show them how skilled he was or else they'd label him, and no doubt leave him alone...bored all over again. _Gotta make this look good._

Instead of catching the spinning blade at the hilt, and earn Limit Points for Strike Raid, he purposefully fumbled and caught the tip of the blade with his palm. The blade did stop at contact, and he felt a little sting as his own sword was stabbed though his hand. He looked at his hand in morbid fascination. The entry and exit 'wounds' were a dull orange, and were wavy giving off the vibe that 'blood' was dripping when nothing was falling.

The sound of footsteps told him that two people were coming closer to him. He kept his face down, and kept examining his hand. He looked at his health bar in the upper left corner of his vision, and noticed that other than the health that dropped from his own sword stabbing him, he hadn't lost anymore. _You would think that something like this would deal continual damage. _

Shaking his head, he stood up, and looked at the two. The first he saw was a sandy blond. His hair was spiky and sleeked back, with brown eyes and light skin. He wore a black muscle shirt with a grey unzipped vest. His pants were grey camo print, and baggy, and he wore dark blue combat boots. He had a grey broadsword strapped to his back.

The second was a heavy-set boy with black hair and light skin. His eyes were brown, and he held his hair up with a black headband that had red lining. He wore white plated armor on his chest with a black long sleeved shirt. His pants were white, and he wore sandals that fit snug around his ankle and were almost a shoe were it not for them exposing his toes. He had a black katana strapped to his waist.

The funny thing was that Roxas remembered the face of the heavy-set boy.

"Hey you're the curb."

The boy immediately looked downcast as he replied, "Seems like everyone knows about that."

This obviously was a touchy subject, "Hey, I'm sorry."

The boy waved him off, "Nah, it's fine. Besides, we should be thanking you. Those Darkballs would have eaten us alive without your timely attack."

The sandy blond patted the fat one on the back, "Ah, I had it all in control Pence. I was just waiting for the right time to attack."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Hayner," the boy, now dubbed Pence replied.

The blond, Hayner, rolled his eyes, "Douche." He then eyed Roxas. "But yeah, thanks."

Roxas smiled, "I was just gonna ignore the first girl scream, but the second higher pitched one just scared me so I went in this direction."

At this Hayner got red in the face.

"Oh dude don't tell me you were the second scream."

**X.X.X**

(Floor 27 Forest of the Beast, 20 minutes later)

As it turns out, Hayner WAS the second scream. Roxas died of laughter. On the inside, because he sure as hell wasn't going to laugh at that.

He held it in for about 4 seconds.

After calming down, the two boys dragged him to meet their two other friends.

He first met Olette, a brown haired girl. Her hair stuck out on the sides and two strands of hair fell from either side of her head, long enough to drape over her shoulders. She had soft looking, peach-colored skin, and green hair. Strangely enough, she wore an orange kimono with white floral designs, and geta sandals. Her weapon of choice was a Bardiche, a pole arm weapon with a slicing blade at one end.

However, it was the last girl, Xion, that took his breath away. Her skin was fair, and her hair was raven colored, cut short, and her bangs parted on the right side, thus making the left side slightly longer. Her eyes were blue, like a clean lake. She wore a checkered black and white sleeveless v-neck t-shirt. Over that she wore black leather padded female armor for her chest. Her pants were black and skin tight, and she wore knee high black heeled boots. Her weapon of choice was a rose colored sword that had two points sticking out near the tip of her blade. The crossguard formed a yellow square around the hilt as it went to the end of said hilt. She had it strapped to her back.

She was wonderful. What's better was that the two bonded pretty fast, which was good, because Roxas was _so _going to date the fuck out of her. If he stayed of course.

He also learned that the four were in a guild called Twilight Alley Cats, with Hayner being the leader. It was only those four in the guild, and they were willing to let him in as thanks for saving him.

"I don't know...are you guys sure you want me in?" he asked, doubt laced in his voice.

Xion nodded, "Yeah, even if Hayner doesn't want to admit it, we would have died if you didn't show up."

Roxas pouted, "Again, are you sure?"

The girl rolled her eyes and then shouted, "Hey Hayner! Send this guy the invite already!"

Roxas laughed, as moments later a pop-up appeared in front of him.

_**Hayner has invited you to join the Twilight Alley Cats guild. Accept of Decline?**_

**X.X.X**

(Floor 29, Crystal Castle, One week later)

Kairi wasn't worried. Nope, not in the slightest bit. She knew Roxas was alive, otherwise he wouldn't be in her friends list. She was just gonna check on him, see how he was doing, yeah..that's what she'd say.

She wondered what he was doing here, though. After all, he had cleared this place like...nine times already by himself, or something like that. She was in one of the banquet halls, finishing off some of the monsters that were here, when she heard his voice. Thinking quickly, she hid underneath a table that had drape fall on it during one of her attacks.

"I've said it once, I'll say it again. We can't keep using MY house as the guild house. It's only meant for one person!" she heard him say.

"Then how come Xion gets to stay there whenever she wants, huh?" another male voice asked.

At this she peeked from under the table to see Roxas get playfully shoved by a sandy blond guy. _So he's a part of a guild now huh? _She saw him laugh, and she looked at the joy in his face.

"Come on Hayner, surely you've saved enough munny for big enough house by now."

"Dude, be quiet about that! I'm going to tell them sometime next week alright?"

Kairi saw the two leave the room, probably to find more munny or something, and she sighed in relief. She left her place from under the table, and dusted her clothes off.

"Well, he's happy, so that's good."

Before she could follow, to say hi at least, an envelope appeared in her vision, signifying she got a message, most likely from the No Heart Knights guild leader. She sighed in anger. If this was another message about a meeting, she swore she would hurt her guild leader. Pressing it, she closed her eyes. It was.

Sometimes, she hated Xemnas.

**X.X.X**

(Castle Oblivion, One week later)

Roxas hated this idea so much. So very, very much. They were in Floor 35's dungeon, Castle Oblivion, a plain white, ornate castle.

When Hayner revealed that he had saved enough munny to buy a large enough house for the guild and left to buy said house, Pence suggested that they should go to one of the upper level floors to earn munny for Hayner fast. Roxas had been outvoted. And as a result he was walking in the back of the group of four.

"I still hate this idea guys," he told them.

"Come on Roxas chill out," Pence replied. He honestly sounded slightly mad. "You've said that twenty times already, and it's seriously starting to piss me off."

"I haven't said it-"

"You have. I counted," Pence stated, cutting him off.

Roxas slumped his shoulder and continued walking. He noticed Xion slow down so that she was walking right next to him, and she held his hand, giving it a small squeeze.

It was amazing how much could happen in two weeks. Two days after he joined the guild, Xion had walked up to him in private to talk. She told him about her fear of dying in the game from her lack of skills. So he spent time helping her, and in a way, she helped him. He became more open, and he told her about any of his problems. He found a place in the guild, and they found a place in his lives. He became attached to them, and them to him. It was like they knew each other since they were kids.

The most surprising development was a relationship between Roxas and Xion. The two had been together for around 5 days now, and Roxas couldn't imagine his life before any of this.

Roxas smiled, and squeezed back. Somehow, seeing Xion smile at the action put him at ease. It sent any worries to the back of his mind. Only for them to come back three seconds later. Castle Oblivion had a reputation to drop high level monster mobs in random rooms. From what he'd heard, some fifty players had already fallen on this floor. Of course, he was worried. They could all possibly die here.

"Hey, Roxas. Ease up on the pressure," she murmured.

Oh, he was squeezing too hard..okay. He relaxed his muscles, and sighed. Everything was going to be fine.

**X.X.X**

(15 minutes later)

_Everything is not fine! _Roxas thought as he ducked underneath a Darkball's bite attack. Things were not going well, and this situation proved it. Just 20 seconds ago, the group walked into a room, just to see a large group of monsters facing them down. High level monsters...at least a couple dozen. This was a mob, and it was one of the worst Roxas had seen.

Roxas could survive, of that he had no doubt. It was the others he was worried about. They weren't powerful enough for this! Dodging yet another bite, he stabbed his sword through the bottom of the Darkball and watched it dissipate.

He rushed toward the center of the gathered monsters, where his girlfriend and the others were surrounded. He cut through any monsters that got in his way, and wishing oh so desperately that he'd make it in time.

After cutting down the last Shadow in his way, he bore witness to a horrible sight. Pence was missing his left arm, and he had gashes over his stomach, and legs. Olette's Bardiche was in pieces, and she was missing her right leg. Xion looked relatively undamaged, but she had to hold Olette to keep her steady. Roxas was frozen in shock. _This can't be happening!_

He recovered in time to dodge an attack aimed at him, but then regretted doing so instantly. The creature continued its attack, and ran it's weapon through Pence, depleting his health instantly. He barely gave out a scream when his body turned into data and dissipated in the wind.

Disbelief painted on his face, Roxas watched, as the creature took out Olette by bisecting her. _Come on move! Xion's in danger! Go help her before she dies too!_

Shaking his head, he ran toward her direction in order to help her survive. Just 2 feet from reaching her he was blocked by various monsters.

"Get out of my way!" he yelled, as he performed Zantetsuken to clear the way. "Xion! Don't worry, I'm coming! Just stay alive long enough for me to help you out of here!"

"You got it Roxas! But this monster is strong, and it's sword has good reach too! I don't know how long I can hold out!" she replied.

That worried him. There were plenty of monsters in Castle Oblivion, but only one type of monster had a sword, Orcus. The Orcus had a muscular upper body, and thin legs. It's arms were muscular, but not beefy, and it held an ornate sword. Worse thing was that it could fly, fly fast. That gave it an entire dimension to fight from. If that's what Xion was fighting off...

Roxas sped up his monster slaying rate, hoping to reach her in time. After what seemed like 3 hours, but in reality was 2 minutes he made it to Xion. He let out a sigh. He made it just in time to...

"Xion look out!"

..to see her get stabbed from the back.

"Looks like I didn't dodge in time huh?" she told him, a small smile on her face. "Sorry I couldn't hold it off long enough."

He watched as the Orcus took its sword out of Xion's body, and prepare it for another strike.

"Xion," he whispered.

"Hey, don't worry. It'll be alright," she told him, with that damn smile still on her face.

"NO! It won't be okay! Pence and Olette are gone, and you're fixing to die! I won't have anybody left!" he told her, despair heavily tinting his voice.

"You'll still have Hayner."

"Yeah, because Hayner is totally cool," he replied, holding back tears at this point.

"Roxas...just promise that you'll beat the game, and free everyone," she requested. "Make sure no one else suffers."

"Yeah. I'll do that. I'll do it for you Xion."

She gave him another smile, this one full of happiness, "Thank you Roxas."

Tears rimmed his eyes, and then the Orcus brought it's blade down on Xion, effectively killing her. He stood, shocked as his girlfriend turned into data and dissipated in the air. He collapsed to his knees, a single tear rolling down his face.

The Orcus turned to face him, and Roxas' face went from sadness to rage. He sneered, and pulled his hood over his face. This monster didn't deserve to see his emotions. This game wasn't privileged enough to see the damage done to him. Gripping his sword tightly, he ran into what was left of the mob, yelling with rage.

**X.X.X**

(Twilight Alley Cats Guild House, 1 hour later)

"So the others are gone? That's what you're telling me?" Hayner asked, disbelief written on his face.

"Yeah," Roxas replied, his hood still up hiding his face from view.

"And that you're a _**beater**_? Do you know how much that could've helped us if we knew? You could have saved everyone with your knowledge." He grabbed Roxas by his arms, eyes filled with rage. "Do you know what's waiting for me if this game gets beat Roxas? Nothing, but a minimum wage job. I have no parents, no real home! I knew those three in real life! They were my only friends, my only family. Without them I have nothing! The only people I had in my life are dead because of you Roxas!"

Roxas didn't respond, the tears he had be crying since he showed up to the house only doubled with every word Hayner said. He held back a gasp as he saw Hayner pull out a dagger. He was expecting this. No doubt Hayner would put that dagger through his heart and end his life as payback for indirectly killing his friends. He closed his eyes, and braced himself when he saw Hayner life his arm...and then waited...

When nothing happened Roxas opened his eyes, and saw Hayner with the dagger in his own chest. He had stabbed himself. Too shocked to even move, Roxas stared at him as he died.

**X.X.X**

(1 month later)

Axel sighed as he brought a tray of food from the kitchen to Roxas' room. Unless somebody was around, Roxas probably wouldn't eat. Hell, when Axel showed up at the, now dead, guild's house, Roxas admitted to not having eaten in 3 days.

It was like the guy shut down. Unless somebody was there, he wouldn't do anything. It was like he was a zombie. Hence, his new nickname.

"Yo, Zoms! I got your food!" he yelled as he butt-kicked the door open. "If I do not see you in the next 10 seconds, I will spill it on the floor and have you eat it off the floor! Got it memorized?!"

Imagine his surprise when he saw Roxas fiddling around with his menu, a concentrated look on his face.

"Hey, Zoms. What are you doing?"

He flinched when he saw Roxas glare at him.

"I'm going to Floor 33 for an item hunt. Get ready if you want to come, if not then leave now. I don't know what I'm going to face to get the item."

Jesus, how much red meat did Roxas eat today? The answer was none. While Axel's cooking skill wasn't high, it wasn't too low either. In reality, he could make a badass cake of sugary sweetness. But enough of that, Roxas was alive...and totally not a zombie.

"Damn...let me at least get a few of my guild members."

"Nope. I gotta go now, and get there in enough time to find it. If we wait for your members, we won't have enough time," the blond replied.

Oh, he was serious. Axel could tell. They were like bros now. It was like a requirement to know what the other was thinking.

"Fine...let's go."

**X.X.X**

(Floor 33 Halloween Town/Christmas Town, 13 minutes later)

Axel was scared. He felt like he was about to find a way to make a mess in his clothes. The strangest thing? It wasn't because he was facing a boss that had the chance of killing him. It was because of the blond that was massacring every monster in sight. Even scarier? The insane smile that was on his face as he wiped them out. When the sound of gleeful laughter and sword swinging sounds stopped, he poked his head from behind the snow covered tree he was hiding behind.

"Is it over?"

"Oh yeah...it's over."

"Well god, don't sound like you're having an orgasm over there."

"...What's an orgasm?" Roxas asked, panting whenever he could.

Okay...this was going to be fun. As they walked, Axel explained everything he knew about the subject of sex, and everything it entailed. Including the STDs. Needless to say, Roxas probably would not be the same after this.

"Hey Roxas! I think I found the item you're looking for!" he clicked the glowing object. "It's called _Elixir of the Gullwing_ right?"

Roxas suddenly appeared at his side, "Don't pick it up! ...I will."

Axel snorted, and stood up. He began to walk away, mumbling about the blond and his weird habits.

"Hey Axel...thanks for coming with me."

"No problem."

"No seriously. You don't know how much this means to me."

There it was! The opening he needed to deliver a speech that could drive a lesser man to tears.

"Roxas, I would follow you on any crazy adventure you have planned in your head. And do you know why? It's because we are bros. And bros are willing to do anything for each other, knowing that the other would do the same, no matter the consequences. Need me to take care of the super ugly girl that's best friends with the sexy girl you want to shack up with? No problem. You want me to pack a spare condom in case the two of us get lucky on the same night? Not an issue. I would even take a bullet for you, providing that you pay for the hospital bill if I live, of course. And I wouldn't expect anything in return, because we are bros, and we will be bros of the highest order."

At this he put an arm around Roxas' shoulder.

"We will be...best men at each other's weddings."

"Axel, while I don't doubt any of this, I would like to get home now. You can leave if you feel like it, I'll be fine."

"I'll think about it. I may leave in the morning, spend Christmas with the guild."

"Yeah...Christmas.."

Axel laughed, "What is it your favorite holiday or something?"

"It is. Plus, this Christmas is probably going to be amazing."

"Why do you say that?"

"No reason."

**X.X.X**

(Twilight Alley Cats Guild House, Christmas Eve, 2 minutes until midnight)

Roxas was happy, no...he was ecstatic! With _Elixir of the Gullwing_, he'd be able to bring a player back from the dead. His gift was going to be the gift of life, and he was gonna bestow it to Xion. Oh, he couldn't wait to see her face when she came back! She'd probably be surprised as hell, and he hug her and tell her how sorry he was for failing her. Then he'd kiss her, tell her how much he missed her, and then they'd celebrate the holidays together. He couldn't wait!

He opened his menu, a huge grin plastered on his face, as he selected the item and prepared to use it. Just to make sure it was the right one, he read the description. His smile fell. _No, no no, no no no no no! Please, for the love of God, no! Why? Why?_

According to the description, the elixir could only bring back a player a minute after they died. All of his happiness was gone, replaced with disbelief, and despair. He punched the wall of his room, and then blinked when an envelope appeared. Now, that was strange. Who would message him? He clicked the envelope, and immediately wished he hadn't. Xion, in all her glory appeared on a screen. It only showed her head and neck area, but still..it was like the universe was out to get him or something. Was this some kind of sick joke?

"Hey Roxas," she said, a regretful smile on her face, as if she already knew her fate. "If you've received this, then I died when we went to Castle Oblivion, and it's midnight...officially the start of Christmas. Before continuing I want to thank you for teaching me how to code stuff like this. It was really generous of you." She gave a sigh, took a breath and continued. "Listen, I really enjoyed these last two weeks. I met you, you helped me get stronger, and we hung out! It was like we had known each other our whole lives. Well, anyway, I want you to know that I don't blame you. After all, you're the strongest person around, and if you couldn't save me, then nobody could. Makes me wonder how I went out. Did I go out in battle, or did we make it out and I was poisoned? You know, I think it wouldn't matter how I went out, just as long the last thing I saw was you. You could make me smile, no matter the situation."

She paused for a few seconds, to wipe tears away. Then she shook her head, and pasted a grin on.

"Oh! I know how much you love Christmas, and a certain reindeer, so I have a gift for you."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. _I remember hearing this part.._

Xion took a breath and then she sang slow,

_Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer  
Had a very shiny nose  
And if you ever saw it  
You would even say it glows  
And all of the other reindeer  
Used to laugh and call him names  
They never let poor Rudolph  
Join in any reindeer games_

_Then one foggy Christmas Eve,  
Santa came to say,  
Rudolph with your nose so bright,  
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?_

_Then all the reindeer loved him,  
And they shouted out with glee,  
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer  
You'll go down in history_

_Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_

_You'll go down in history!_

She stopped, and didn't bother wiping the tears away, "Roxas...I don't blame you, so don't blame yourself alright? Merry Christmas!"

With that the video stopped, and Roxas collapsed on the floor. He began sobbing, letting all of his frustrations out. He barely heard footsteps, as Axel came into his room.

"Roxas, Roxas! Are you okay man?"

Roxas felt himself get pressed against Axel's body, and he simply turned and wept into his chest.

**X.X.X**

"_Xion! You done singing in there?"_

"_Give me just a second Roxas!"_

"_...It's already been two seconds! Don't make me come in there!"_

"_I'm coming! Geez...be patient for once."_

"_I was patient. I waited until you were done singing Christmas Carols. What was that for anyway? Are you planning on going caroling come Christmas time?"_

"_That sounds like fun! We should go caroling!"_

"_Where?"_

"_Anywhere...as long as you come with."_

**X.X.X**

"You should blame me," he said, in between sobs. "Blame me like I blame myself Xion...please."

* * *

**Well that was depressing. I was crying by the end of this. Shows how weak I am...**

**No handbook or humor data this time guys...but I feel like that would take away from the feels you most likely have. I'll make it up to you..promise.**

**So...I originally wanted to post this on Christmas Eve, but I put it up now, so that in case I forgot...it'd be here. Guys, I freaking love all this positive feedback I'm getting! It's wonderful!**

**Well, no major boss fights today, but I gotta follow my outline. Next chapter starts a little mini-arc so be ready for that. You guys are going to love it, trust me. It'll definitely take a few chapters to cover, but that's okay.**

**Anyway, review if you want! They feed my soul and keep me living!**


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